


Hypnotic

by KeepCaliforniaDreamin



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Austrian castles, Carmen Sandiego mind controlled, Gen, Hand to Hand Combat, Hypnosis, Mind Control, Psychological Drama, Psychological Torture, Suspense, Thriller, Zack and Ivy Save the Day, melee weaponry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24667033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeepCaliforniaDreamin/pseuds/KeepCaliforniaDreamin
Summary: So this is going to be part one of two three-shots I'm dubbing: ZACK AND IVY SAVE THE DAY! Because they're twins…so, you know, two of everything. Because our favorite Bostonian twins deserve their time in the spotlight. So for the first part, a premise: After a botched mission, Carmen Sandiego reaches a rift with Zack and Ivy, but the two are forced to save their red-coated boss after Carmen is captured and hypnotized by V.I.L.E.! Stuck in their enemy's lair with a mind controlled Carmen hunting them down, they must work together to save Carmen from being a permanent fixture to V.I.L.E.'s collection. Do leave a comment and enjoy. Rated T for violence. (Ivy's gonna get real dark)
Relationships: Ivy & Zack (Carmen Sandiego)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	1. Volume I

A foot taps. A clock ticks. It's silent otherwise. We're inside this creepy and stately office fit for Bruce Wayne…or a serial killer. It contained a library, a solid oak desk with a very large and ornate golden letter opener atop it. On one side of the office sat a massive aquarium with many vicious aquatic life floating around inside it.

The man occupying the desk was our favorite pale mad doctor: Professor Gunnar Maelstrom. He was joined by three of V.I.L.E.'s finest: Coach Brunt, leaning against his bookshelf, Countess Cleo, having a seat on his couch near the aquarium, and V.I.L.E.'s newest faculty member: Roundabout, dutifully standing in the center of the room. Gunnar checked his most-likely stolen Patek Phillipe watch. "She's late." He bemoaned in the deadest of deadpans.

"Perhaps the doctor is working on a matter of most importance?" Roundabout queried in his proper British accent.

"Saira Bellum would be late to her own funeral" Countess Cleo miffed, to Coach Brunt's snort, then chuckle.

"You know the funny thing about that is she wouldn't even understand that idiom."

"Oh forget it, let's get started" Gunnar spat, standing up from his desk. "What's the damage from our former Black Sheep's latest theft of our stolen property?"

"Well, not nearly as bad as usual" Brunt shrugged.

"Oh?" Gunnar raised an eyebrow.

"All that gold ore in Sierra Leone wasn't a total loss. We actually made out with some of it" Brunt reported.

"How much?" Cleo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Enough to cover some of our most recent financial losses, including the destruction of our beloved V.I.L.E. Island" Brunt added, everyone was intrigued by that.

"Fancy that" Roundabout rubbed his hands together.

"It's a nice gain sure, but Carmen Sandiego remains at large. And especially since she's partnered with A.C.M.E. it makes the game even trickier" Gunnar added.

"I'm not so sure they're all buddy-buddy these days. I hear talk little Lambkins decided to hack their files to find out about a certain unpleasant situation in Buenos Aires a scant twenty or so years ago" Brunt interjected.

"Fabulous, so she knows the truth now?" Cleo asked.

"It appears that way."

"So no Shadowsan-Carmen feud? Pity" Cleo sighed.

"Perhaps we could sow more seeds of doubt in the young one's mind?" Roundabout suggested.

"Don't waste your breath, Roundabout; mind control is the very fashionably late doctor's specialty" Gunnar stated.

On cue, the door to his office opened, and in walked the aforementioned Dr. Bellum, giddily holding up the latest piece of V.I.L.E. torture-ware. "It is my specialty, indeed. And I have what I think is the perfect tool to permanently make Carmen Sandiego V.I.L.E.'s favorite agent of chaos…the way she was raised" she explained.

"I will never forgive myself for asking this, but I must: what is this new tool?" Gunnar asked.

Bellum held up a small white plastic case that easily fit in the palm of her gloved hand. "Behold! The MindPods ™. Patent pending."

"A seemingly ordinary pair of what looks like Apple brand Airpods? Well, my time has been thoroughly wasted" Gunnar sighed.

"Wait-wait! You'll want to hear this" Bellum insisted. "What flaws have our other mind control devices had in the past?"

"They were shoddy?" Roundabout asked.

"Cliched?" Countess Cleo.

"They made this weird hissing noise and everything smelled like burning hair" Coach Brunt.

"They didn't work" Gunnar finally said the obvious.

"All of the above! Except these WILL work!" Bellum promised everyone. "The problem was they took so long to be effective, and used so much power. What's more is the devices always had to attach themselves to every receptor in the brain which caused an overload. But I have solved the problem. I have been using the wrong frequency this entire time, and I give you the fruits of this long and arduous endeavor. See, instead of trying to merely scramble one's brain matter into submitting to our plans—which gets messy, robotic and unreliable, what these do is implant millions of subliminal messages a second into the frontal cortex of the brain, and then slowly builds and builds until the brain is completely hypnotized" Bellum continued as everyone was becoming suddenly intrigued. "No longer do we have to worry about our puppets acting like…well, like puppets. They will be sentient…sinister, but follow our orders to the letter."

"Sinister, you say? I like the sound of that" Gunner smirked, scratching his chin.

"How sinister we talking, doc?" Coach Brunt asked.

"In my sleep, I have been speed watching every movie ever made with the best possible villains, and uploaded their personalities—along with all our own, onto the device."

"So, they just keep uploading V.I.L.E. orders into Carmen's brain? How long does this take?" Cleo asked.

"The effects are immediate, but they become permanent over time."

"How much time?" Gunnar asked his newly found smile fading.

"Four hours. But just think of it, four hours is a small price to pay to have Carmen Sandiego permanently under our control. And did I mention once the full upload is complete this is irreversible?"

"It sounds snake-oily" Brunt shrugged. "You know I gotta ask what we're all thinking, what are the drawbacks?"

"The obvious one, if the MindPods at any point during the four hour upload separate from the user's ear, the effects immediately subside and you must start the process over again" Bellum explained. "But, who is going to do that? Not us, and not Carmen Sandiego."

"There's a bigger problem. Getting them in her ears in the first place" Gunnar commented.

"Well, that is the other thing I needed to explain" Bellum continued. "The best way for this to work is to take a calculated risk."

"Let me guess: we lure her to our new and secret headquarters-of which she does not know the location of, and then trap her, you mean?"

"Correct."

"That's quite the gamble, doctor" Roundabout raised a concerned eyebrow. "This new facility was not easy to come by, believe me."

"If we go all in and lose, we're back to square one…again" Brunt added.

"But should this succeed, think of it, Carmen Sandiego, a V.I.L.E. puppet with a pulse" Cleo smirked. "Hmm-hmm-hmm, imagine the havoc she'd wreak on her lackeys; those two bumbling idiots and Shadowsan. Then she'll be all ours."

"Yes, it's not that this plan is not a suitable gamble" Gunnar began.

"It's merely the loss we are concerned over" Roundabout continued.

"Well then, perhaps we should do as we always, and leave it to a vote?" Bellum suggested.

"Very well" Gunnar nodded. "All in favor of risking our new home with Dr. Bellum's plan?"

Bellum's hand shot up so fast it seemed as if it was ready to fly out of its socket. Countess Cleo smiled, and raised her hand as well. Both Gunnar and Roundabout stoically sat this one out. "It's a nay for me, I'm afraid" Roundabout said solemnly. "With all due respect, it is simply too much risk at this time."

"Agreed" Gunnar then turned to Brunt, where everyone's eyes shifted to her. "Coach dearest, it appears you are the swing vote" Gunnar posited with a raised eyebrow.

Brunt grunted, and walked forward, coming into the light. "So, it's all down to me? Well, the practical side of my head wants to turn tail and run. We've had recent success, but that stubborn Black Sheep always seems to come out on top" Brunt said, Bellum waited with baited breath for the 'but'. "On the other hand, hmm-hmm, I would pay top dollar to watch the look on her face when all her bleeding-heart thoughts vanish into thin air and she becomes one of us for good. Doc, exactly how evil can we make her?"

"As evil as we want!" Bellum chirped. "I plan to add a few more personalities before we begin this experiment."

"Also, it's not like they'll be much resistance. Rumor has it Shadowsan is out of commish with the old shin splints over a caper a few days ago. That leaves only the two knuckleheads who drive her places. And they're about as dumb as a rattle snake in a brush fire." Brunt smiled, and raised her hand. "Let's finish this."

Gunnar sighed. "Then we have a verdict. We will risk it all."

"I will activate our signal on the dark web, it should easily lure out Carmen Sandiego to our location post haste" Roundabout explained.

"No, she won't just come for nothing, she'll know it's a trap" Gunnar added.

"We have another bargaining chip" Cleo interjected. "All that gold she lost in her last mission. I'm sure it's eating away at her as we speak."

"Not a bad idea, Countess. Then it's settled" Gunnar smiled.

And now smash-cut to Carmen's HQ and get a close up on Carmen sitting at her breakfast nook. "Faculty, this could be a new era in V.I.L.E.'s infamous history. We only have a few mere hours to countdown to Carmen Sandiego being under our control forever, as it should be." Gunnar snickered via voice over.

'Twas dawn at Carmen Brand Outerwear. The former home of the bankrupt women's fashion company and current home to Carmen Sandiego and her merry band of "professional" robin hoods; sat perfectly picturesque against the San Diego Bay as the sun was rising from in front of it.

Carmen, Zack and Ivy were eating a "well-balanced" breakfast, enjoying a bowl of Freak-a-Flakes, a cereal featuring everyone's favorite zany, and quirky 1990's superhero: Freakazoid!. (It was before your time, kids) It was an oddly quiet breakfast.

Carmen had a pretty noticeable scowl on her face, but no one more so than Ivy. Who was not only giving Carmen the stink-eye, she also wasn't taking her eyes off the Latina while Carmen was often looking away but still giving Ivy the same stare down from time to time. When she was not looking at Ivy she was swirling her spoon around in her bowl and watched the whirlpool of milk spin round and around.

Zack, trying desperately to keep the peace, sat in the middle, and definitely wanted to find an excuse to break the awkward. He grabbed the box. "Gee, oh boy, I hope there's a prize inside" Zack chuckled, reaching inside the cereal box. With no words or warning, Ivy grabbed the box from her brother and tossed it aside, still glaring at Carmen. "Oh, come on!" Zack complained, gawking at the discarded box and trail of cereal on the floor.

"That was adult" Carmen deadpanned.

"You mean just like your attitude, huh?" Ivy blurted.

You're probably wondering why such animosity? Ivy would never treat Carmen this way. Heck, she was always Carmen's biggest supporter, going as far as impersonating her to get a job done while Carmen was about to freeze to death in the Swedish wilderness.

But this time was different. Yeah, Carmen was mad at Ivy and Zack before, but this time wasn't just like before. This time Ivy wasn't going to take Carmen's guff and gave it right back to her. This time, it wasn't Zack's pettiness, or Ivy's headstrong demeanor that got in the way, this time it was Carmen's life that was on the line.

…And the twins chose Carmen.

"My attitude, Ivy? I think I have a right to be annoyed at the two of you after last night's debacle in Sierra Leone!"

"We recovered most of the gold!" Ivy defended.

"Most, not all. The rest of course landed in V.I.L.E.'s pockets. You know how many starving orphaned children that gold could've fed?"

"And do you know how many starving orphans there'd be if you'd fallen into that quarry?" Ivy asked. "A quarry my brother and I here, rescued you from?"

"You could've gotten the gold—and besides, there's two of you, one couldn't have gotten me and the other, the gold!" Carmen fumed.

"It was already flying away" Zack shrugged.

"Yeah, all the way to wherever little hideout V.I.L.E. has somewhere in the world. Nice work, team" Carmen said sarcastically, shoveling another mouthful of cereal into her face.

"I don't believe this! All our success, and you get miffed over a couple a slipups!" Ivy snarled.

"A couple of slipups, Ivy? One success from V.I.L.E. is too many. Now they have momentum. And besides, it's not just the gold, it's mostly your lack of professionalism."

"Right, because there's a code of conduct in being a professional thief who steals from other professional thieves?" Ivy balked.

"There is in this outfit! Maybe Shadowsan was right. Maybe I should've went with more professionals, or handled this on my own" Carmen harped, taking her now empty cereal bowl to the sink.

But now it was Zack's turn to be annoyed as it seemed he was now roped into this one. "Wait-wait, you really think we're amateurs?"

"Sometimes, I do. We can't have our missions be jeopardized by coulda-woulda's and oopsie-daisies! And besides, you two know darn well the only reason why you're here is to lay low from that two-bit loan shark you've been racking up vigs from!"

"Wait, ya calling us freeloaders now?" Zack asked.

"Easy bro, I can handle this" Ivy insisted before turning to Carmen. "Ya calling us freeloaders now? It's not like we don't earn our keep! Who needed a getaway driver? Who needed cool high tech gadgets?"

"It's not the point!" Carmen sneered. "We failed, and now we have to pick up the pieces and try to succeed in another mission! But no, you are not freeloaders, not hardly. I'm just angry."

"But you would've died, Carm!" Zack added.

"I can handle myself."

"Really? Cause from where I was dangling you nearly took a header off a quarry cliff!" Ivy yelled.

"You know what, I don't have time for this. Maybe you two really should reconsider your options if this is how you act after a failed mission" Carmen finished.

Zack and Ivy narrowed their eyes as they watched Carmen walk for the stairs.

"Oh yeah, well maybe we will!" Zack stated. "It's not like Trey Sterling's dad won't take us in. He offered us one job who's to say there won't be another?"

"Then what are you still doing here?" Carmen flung her hands in the air, stunning all three of them. She then stomped up the stairs.

Carmen marched towards her room, but after the needless anger was subsiding, she was realizing once again how hard she was on the two of them. Sure they screwed up but Carmen might have been toast had they not intervened.

Carmen's extreme hatred for the organization who raised her was starting to take its toll. Carmen had good friends and a good crew and was about to abandon both in one fell swoop over a snafu on one mission. But Carmen knew that was the only life she knew how to live. She was robbed of a normal life, the life to be a normal teenage girl who didn't have to worry about thieves or A.C.M.E. or being in life or death situations on a regular basis. Carmen's life was almost like the life of a mobster: there's only two endings, dead or in jail. Or perhaps a third: to succeed.

She was passing Shadowsan's dojo. He exited the room, crutches under his armpits, as his right leg was in a cast due to the aforementioned shin splints. Their eyes met one another.

"Do not tell me I need to be the adult in this situation?"

"How much of that did you hear?" Carmen asked with arms crossed.

"Enough. Now, I understand that—"

"Save the father-knows-best-routine, Shadowsan, I'm not particularly in the mood for it."

Carmen continued down the hallway to her bedroom. "I was going to say I agree with you" Shadowsan finally said. Carmen stopped dead in her tracks, but didn't turn around. "They're unruly, childish, and unpredictable…much like another young soul I happened to remember raising for the past twenty odd years…but you wouldn't be here right now, having this conversation with me if it weren't for them."

Carmen sighed and partially turned her head. "You're right. But, I have some thinking to do." She then started to walk away again.

"Carmen" Shadowsan called, again she stopped but didn't look back. "You can let them go, or let this go. Just remember this, a decision made in haste will always end in unplanned disaster down the unpredictable road of life. Sure you may not want them now, but you know as well as I do, you need them."

"What happened to agreeing with me?" Carmen asked, still not turning her head.

"I agree that they are unruly and undisciplined, but I've never seen such loyalty to you the way they've shown it" Shadowsan finished, trying to crutch his way to the stairs. Carmen briefly turned to see him go, then headed to her room.

She closed the door and flopped on her bed. "Why does everything have to be so difficult?" she asked herself. "Am I being too hard on them?"

Before Carmen had a chance to answer her TV wall monitor turned on, revealing camera feed to our favorite computer hacker prodigy: Player. "Red!"

"Old reliable Player" Carmen happily smiled. "What's up?" Player raised an eyebrow, Carmen had a hunch where this was going. "You really think I'm being too hard on them?"

"I'm not saying anything, Red. But what I am saying is I may have a new mission I stumbled upon the darkest part of the dark web."

"Be careful, Player, the dark web is no place for a kid."

"Thanks mom, but regardless I intercepted this cryptic message from Austria. Someone has a large shipment of something, they never define what it is specifically but the letters "Au" keep coming up. Au are the first two letters in the spelling of Austria. But that can't be right. The message keeps referring to the so-called product as Au. Not even V.I.L.E. has the resources to sell an entire country…right?"

"Au?" Carmen thought for a moment before it hit her. "Au! The atomic symbol for gold!"

"Oh, right! V.I.L.E. must be moving it quickly to get some fast cash."

"Aw, you're the best, Player! I can't believe how lucky this is!" Carmen beamed. "There's gotta be half a billion worth in gold ore those thieves stole."

"Wait-wait, Carmen…are you not concerned that this may have been too easy?" Player asked.

"Player, come on? Is anything ever easy with us?"

"All I'm saying, I smell a rat."

"You say rat, I say opportunity. Where's the signal coming from, oh wonderful computer genius of mine?" Carmen asked playfully, her mood suddenly shifting.

"Lower Austria, right off the Danube River. It's a famous castle jutting off the cliffs nearby. Aggstein Castle. Built in the 12th century, it sits a whopping 480 meters—sorry, 1,570 feet above sea level. Huh. It says here the castle was mostly in ruins, but check this out…" Player brought up a 3D view of the castle. "This is a current aerial view of Aggstein but it looks almost new, some of these turrets and towers were definitely added recently, and tons and I mean TONS of power is emitting from it."

"Oh yeah, this has V.I.L.E. written all over it. This must be their new base, but not if I have anything to say about it. Get a me a ride Player…and only ONE ticket this time" Carmen sneered suiting up in her red fedora and duster jacket.

"Uh, no offense, Red; but you're not gonna invade a new V.I.L.E. base, steal five hundred million dollars' worth of gold ore, and take down V.I.L.E. on your own. You don't even wanna know the odds."

"Never tell me the odds!" Carmen rolled her eyes, gearing up with some gadgetry. "Are you my hacker or my actuary?"

"I wear a lot of hats" Player shrugged. "And whether you like it or not, I got three tickets."

Carmen groaned. "Fine, it looks like I don't have a choice, but so help me if they mess up again…"

"Carmen, you'll get the gold back, relax."

"I'll relax when the entire V.I.L.E. organization is behind bars where they belong and all their stolen goods are returned to their rightful owners."

"Sometimes taking it easy isn't so bad. Anyway, your flight leaves in two hours from San Diego International, good luck" Player nodded before ending his transmission. Carmen looked longingly into the distance, serious face on. IT'S GO TIME!

Downstairs, Zack was sweeping up the remains of their cereal from the floor while Ivy sat by, regretting she destroyed such a lovely cereal box to begin with. They were interrupted by Shadowsan.

"How's she doing?" Zack asked.

"Who cares!?" Ivy boomed, as if Zack was directing the question at her. She walked up and sat on the couch.

"She will be fine" Shadowsan limped over to the counter where a fruit bowl awaited him. He picked up an apple and wiped it on his robe before taking a bite. "You know you two have a tendency towards stupidity, I hope you know that?"

"Buuuuuuuut…?" Ivy egged him on.

"But for once you did no wrong in this instance. Look, you have to understand, whatever your upbringing was I can guarantee it wasn't being raised by criminals to become one and where your past was hidden from you for so long. She was so close to a normal life and it was taken from her. And if not by me, it would have been by A.C.M.E." he explained. "If I had been a man with no conscious we wouldn't be having this conversation because Carmen would have ceased to exist, along with her father."

"So what, we save her life and now that's our cross to bear too?" Ivy asked. "I'm not asking for much, not even a respect, just not being angry that her life was saved!" she bellowed. Ivy turned to Zack. "What if we just didn't hit up that donut shop, or-or-or went on a different night?"

"Um, I gotta feeling Shark-Head Eddie was gonna have our legs broke…and that's best case scenario" Zack gulped.

"Whatever, I'm still annoyed" Ivy pouted. "So, what do we do, sensei?" she asked Shadowsan.

"Don't agitate her, feel for her, and if she cannot accept that, that's on her, not on either of you."

The twins shrugged. On cue, Carmen walked down the stairs, clad in her red attire. "Player found the gold. It's at this creepy-looking castle in Lower Austria. There's three tickets, anyone interested? I'd be okay if you weren't up for it."

Ivy glared. "Oh, we're up for it."

"Yeah!" Zack called, dropping his broom.

"Then let's go" Carmen sighed and headed for the front door. Ivy stopped her, and stood in the way, soon joined by her brother.

"You know what? You're clearly mad at us, but what if…what if we could make this interesting?" Ivy smirked, raising an eyebrow. From the couch, Shadowsan made a face palm.

"That's not what I call "feeling for her"!" he boomed.

"Yeah, well I was never good at following directions" Ivy pointed out.

"Clearly" Carmen cattily agreed.

"So, how about a friendly wager, huh?"

"We're not twelve years old, Ivy, I'm not entertaining this" Carmen rolled her eyes.

"I think you'll like what's on the table: if we screw up and V.I.L.E. keeps the gold, Zack and I will leave forever and go beg Mr. Sterling for a job on his racing crew."

"Really? You're going into ultimatums now?" Carmen asked, arms crossed.

"Well I mean if we're such burdens on your missions—"

"I never called you burdens!" Carmen defended. "I said I'm just angry! And besides, we're wasting time."

"What's wrong? Someone chicken?" Ivy taunted, then folded her hands into her armpits. "Buck-buck-buck, buck-ah!"

Carmen sneered, she snorted. "And if you two can successfully help me—which by the way is a catch twenty-two because if I want to win, I have to lose, so the stakes better be low" Carmen demanded.

"No-no, if we screw up. You can succeed on your own, can't you?" Ivy asked. "We have to help, and be a vital asset in the gold grabbing."

"That's more like it. So, if you two manage this, what do I have to do for you?"

Ivy thought for a moment. "Huddle!" she called, and got together with Zack, the two whispered. "Oh boy, what should we ask for?" Ivy asked. "Super-charged Ferrari, state-of-the-art mechanic station, an autographed photo of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt senior? May he rest in peace."

Zack then thought for a moment. "I got it. Trust me." The two then got out of their huddle. "If we were to succeed in helping you grab the gold—in a significant way, you will spend the day dressed as a cheerleader for your humiliation and our amusement."

"Ooh, I like this bet" Ivy chuckled.

"You're joking, right?" Carmen asked.

"Buck-buck. Buck-buck" Ivy taunted her with her chicken impression.

Carmen scowled. She held out both her hands. "Fine, if this is how you want it, you have yourselves a deal."

"Deal!" The twins each took a hand and shook it.

"Now, let's move. Our Uber's waiting" Carmen ordered. The twins sprinted outside. But Shadowsan stopped Carmen before she could leave.

Carmen!" he called. "You are not serious about this bet, are you?"

"If they want to leave, it'll be on their own accord. But I'm not tolerating slipups" she insisted before slamming the door behind her.

The long plane ride across the Atlantic Ocean was a largely quiet one to say the least. Zack and Ivy found themselves angrily staring down Carmen, who was trying to ignore them while staring at schematics of the castle Player downloaded for her on her phone. The awkward was occasionally broken by Zack snacking on some peanuts, never taking his eyes off Carmen.

"Out of anything you could want, you want me to dress like a cheerleader? You got some weird fantasies, Zack" Carmen said, not looking up. The twins ignored her. "You know how much weight five hundred million dollars' worth of gold is? Nearly 90,000 pounds."

"Okay Miss-I-know-everything, how do you suggest we steal all that bullion?" Ivy asked.

"They had to get it there and in a hurry, which means whatever mode of transport they used is probably still there. That's what brought in the gold, and that's how we're gonna get it out, only with us on it" Carmen explained.

Zack and Ivy looked at one another. "son of a gun, that's a good plan" Ivy whispered.

"But don't think we're out of the fight just yet" Zack defended.

"I'll believe it when I see it" Carmen sighed.

"You really don't believe we can do this on our own, do you?" Ivy asked.

"I never said that, Ivy."

"You don't think we can hold our own against V.I.L.E.? You really don't? You know, growing up, I used to beat people up twice my size" she said. Carmen snorted. "Excuse me?"

"I literally said nothing" Carmen said flatly.

Some more flying later and the gang found themselves zipping through the skies above the bucolic and serene countryside of Central Europe, the crown jewel of which being Austria…which is basically Germany with a richer history in music. The flight door opened, Zack, Ivy, and Carmen readied themselves in their homemade handglides. They were flying right over the castle.

"Think you both can still keep up?" Carmen asked.

"You bet!" Zack shouted.

"Then let's hit it!"

We look above the Austrian night sky as the plane flies over the castle, three gliders are seen bailing out of the plane and flying fast down towards Aggstein Castle. Zack and Ivy flew more together and they separated from Carmen.

Carmen accelerated and swung in on a good angle, and flew right into an open window in one of the upper floors on the main structure of the castle, repaired after V.I.L.E. apparently too it over.

"Perfect" she said, her hand glider automatically collapsed into a small backpack which Carmen slung over her shoulders.

Little did our red hatted heroine know, she was being watched. From a security camera, we see the Faculty watching her in a safe room with all the various cameras throughout the castle showing feeds through an array of monitors.

"Our mouse has taken the bait" Gunnar smiled.

"And now, we spring the trap" Bellum snickered.

Lower on the castle, Zack and Ivy flew through another window, but unlike Carmen's professional grace, they landed with a thud against a large box of something. This was clearly a storage room.

Ivy pushed her brother off of her as she was sandwiched between the box and Zack. "Sorry" Zack groaned. Their gliders collapsed into backpacks as well.

"Okay, good news, we made it to the lower part of the castle, a perfect place to store 90,000 pounds worth of gold" Ivy snickered.

"Yeah, we got this, right sis?"

"You bet!" the two high-fived and exited the storage room, trying to be as sneaky as possible.

And now over to Carmen who was about to find herself in one heckuva predicament. She sneaked through the upper hallway of the floor she was on, and saw no sign of V.I.L.E. anything. She peeked into a few rooms only to discover they were just rooms. Carmen looked into one bedroom and saw the open window, the sun was almost set and nightfall would be upon them.

"Darkness, perfect for stealing a large sum of gold" Carmen said, basking in the windy night sky.

Suddenly, Carmen heard a door slam. She peeked her head out into the hallway and saw a closed door that wasn't closed when she walked into this bedroom. Carmen wall crawled next to the door and slowly opened it. It was a study, with a disheveled and dusty library inside. Carmen entered and closed the door behind her, it didn't seem like there was anyone around. She perused the dusty bookshelf.

"Hopefully this won't turn into some sort of Scooby-Doo clicheeeee!"

Before Carmen could finish her karmic statement, the bookshelf started to turn, revealing it was one of those secret passage bookshelves. With some speed it knocked Carmen into the secret passage which happened to be a long slide down to who-knows where. Carmen could only see darkness as she slid down and the bookshelf returned to the wall…

Suddenly, Carmen found herself strapped to a medical table as some surgical lights above her shined down. Carmen's limbs were bound to the table, and she was in her black combat undershirt and pants while her trademark red jacket and hat were missing. Carmen struggled to get free, to no avail.

"What the? W-Where am I!?"

She saw around this lab-like place that it was clearly the quarters of Dr. Bellum, with many failed gadgets and other experiments lining various tables. A large television monitor was dangling down from an arm and cable above.

But suddenly, a door opened, and three familiar figures entered the lab and approached Carmen. They towered above the bound heroine casting a shadow over the lights above. It was Bellum, Cleo, and Coach Brunt.

Carmen put on a brave face, but deep down she was terrified. "This would be your doing, Dr. Bellum?" Carmen asked.

"Aw, suddenly she's tough again" Cleo smirked.

"Ain'tcha interested in what we've got in store for you, kiddo?" Brunt asked.

"Well, I'm sure whatever it is will involve some sort of torture, and I'm not really interested. But knowing Dr. Bellum, I'm willing to bet it has something to do with mind control, right?"

"She is good" Cleo nodded.

"It is, in fact" Bellum chuckled, walking over to one of the other tables. "But not in the usual sense" She turned around and Carmen got wide-eyed as Bellum was holding up a massive syringe. "Kidding" she tossed it aside, and from her pocket, produced the MindPod case, walking back over to Carmen.

With the push of a universal remote, Carmen's table stood nearly upright. She saw Bellum open the case.

"Wow, instead of stealing from Apple, you're just gonna rip them off?" Carmen asked.

"Oh no, not at all."

"And I'd start being nicer to us, Lambkins" Brunt spat. "You have no idea what's coming to you. NONE!"

"Mind control. Great, so you turn me into a robot for V.I.L.E. so I can steal for you, right?"

No-no, Black Sheep" Bellum snickered. "That time has passed. You are going to become V.I.L.E.'s most sinister-most evil operative we have. You will not be a thief, you will be our assassin!"

"What!?" Carmen's eyes went wide as she struggled fruitlessly for freedom yet again. "What are you talking about?"

Bellum pushed a few more buttons and the monitor turned on, revealing a plethora of downloaded movie titles. "This is my latest and most evil invention. I call them, the MindPods! What they do is subliminally upload commands into your ears and brain to make you our puppet, but there's a twist. In the past our mind control devices make people robotic and zombie-like, but I've fixed the frequency! Instead of merely following orders, we have uploaded the most sinister, most shockingly wicked personalities from all of cinema, and YOU Carmen Sandiego will adopt those personalities while being under our control. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"I'm having loads of fun" Cleo brimmed with excitement.

"Me too" Brunt agreed.

Carmen started to sweat as she realized she wasn't just going to be a V.I.L.E. zombie "You mean…I'm…I'm…"

"That's right pumpkin, you're gonna be evil. Pure and unapologetically evil. And there's nothing you can do about it" Brunt swore.

"And just look at all these wonderful personalities we've uploaded" Bellum began, using the remote to scroll through the movies. "Anton Chigurh: No Country for Old Men. Hans Landa, Inglourious Basterds. Frank Costello, The Departed. Alonzo Harris, Training Day. All the James Bond villains. Tommy DeVito, Goodfellas. Alex Forrest, Fatal Attraction. Thanos, The Avengers Infinity Wars. John Doe, Se7en. Marlo Stanfield, The Wire. Every heavy from Kill Bill! Jack Torrance, The Shining. Four of the best Joker's in cinema including Mark Hamill! And so many more! And never mind movies. I've uploaded half the cast of Breaking Bad and The Sopranos for good measure!"

"Huh, Jack Nicholson's played a lot of villains in his day, but man was he dreamy, though" Brunt mused.

"You can't be serious! Do whatever you want to me, but please-please don't make me evil!" Carmen begged.

"Sorry, no can do" Brunt shook her head.

"It's not sporting just to take you down, it would be so much fun if in fact we permanently alter your life. No longer will you go about and stealing from us, you will destroy for us" Cleo explained.

"Wait…p-p-permanently?" Carmen asked.

"Silly me, I let that one slip, didn't I?" Cleo chuckled.

"Oh yes. Permanently. Unless someone can get these off you within four hours' time—"

"Why would you tell her that part!?" Brunt interrupted Bellum.

"Please, what difference does it make?" Cleo asked. "It's not like she'll be able to shake them off" she cooed, stroking her fingers through Carmen's hair.

"Anyway, in four hours, the MindPods will permanently alter your thoughts. And there is no undoing it" Bellum finished.

"No. No please!" Carmen begged.

"W-what's this? You're begging?" Cleo asked sarcastically.

"I never thought I'd see the day. The Day Carmen Sandiego cried and begged. Wish I had my camera" Brunt snickered.

"You can't! Please don't!" Carmen begged.

Bellum got out the two ear phones and approached Carmen's face. The heroine was prolonging the agony by shaking her head. Coach Brunt stepped in and used her large paw to grab Carmen by the chin so she would hold still. Tears streamed down her face.

"And to think, all you had to do was bide your time like a good little lamb, but no. No, you had to be special" Brunt sneered into Carmen's ear. "Well you're gonna be real special now, Black Sheep. I guarantee it."

"No-no-nooooooo!" Carmen gave one last cry before Bellum affixed the MindPods to her ears, letting Carmen's hair cover it up so it didn't appear suspicious.

Immediately, Carmen took a dep breath, but then froze. Her eyes suddenly changed into a light and ghostly blue color. Her smile then change. It was crooked, it was wicked…it was vile. The experiment seemed successful. Dr. Bellum undid Carmen's restraints and she stood up on the ground.

"Did it work?" Cleo asked.

Bellum changed the camera feed on the monitor, and found a camera with its eyes on Zack and Ivy. "Only one way to find out" she snickered.

Over to the twins, they were still in the lower part of the castle. Doing their best to be sneaky. Suddenly, they heard Bellum's voice over a loudspeaker.

"Attention redheaded intruders! We know you are in here."

They both groaned. "Oh!"

"So much for the element of surprise." Ivy sighed.

"We also have a friend of yours…well, she's more like a friend of ours, now. Your boss, Carmen Sandiego is now under V.I.L.E. control, and we have let her loose in the castle to hunt you both down."

"V-V-V.I.L.E. control?" Ivy parroted.

"Hunt us down?" Zack asked, equally frightened.

"I would also like to point out that there is no escape from this fortress. So you have two options—you know because there are two of you. You can surrender and join her…or, you can run and be destroyed by her. Up to you."

The two looked at one another and instantly sprinted down the hallway. "You know bro, I wonder how bad a few broken legs woulda been?" Ivy panted.

"Yeah, right. Maybe that'd be healed by now and we could race again!" Zack called.

As the two turned the corner they ducked as a throwing knife barely missed their heads and stuck into the wall. The twins looked up the hallway and saw two light blue dots attached to a silhouette. Carmen then came into the light, with a new crooked smile.

"C-C-C-C-Car-Car-Carmen?" Ivy stammered.

Carmen looked up and spoke in a low and unsettling tone. "Sort of."

Alright! I like that ending. The carnage will continue in the thrilling finale. Will the twins succeed or will they become evil V.I.L.E. operatives just like Carmen…or will Carmen get the better of them both? Leave a comment and get ready for more guys! Goodnight Everybody!


	2. Volume II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmen proves just how evil she can be, Zack has a pratfall or twenty but solves half a problem while Ivy becomes the primary target of Carmen's ire and underestimation.

Zack and Ivy stood aghast at the evilly smirking Carmen standing in front of them. She was in her black mission gear but was again without her fedora and duster. Her grin was what freaked the twins out the most. It was crooked and sinister, not the usual Carmen they were used to.

Despite their anger and reservations with Carmen at that moment in time, it would ultimately be meaningless as their boss was now filled with an insurmountable capacity of rage. This was also due to the many V.I.L.E. weapons Carmen had on her person as well as many throwing knives.

Music started to play over the loud speakers. The song was Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz. Bellum then spoke over the speaker. "Oh, and I forgot to mention, we have a surround sound stereo system. Do enjoy the music" she said.

"Ooh, I like this song" Zack mused, forgetting Carmen was about to cut their throats.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm" Carmen chuckled. "Heh-heh-heh-heh."

"Huh, you know, I never heard Carmen laugh before" Ivy gulped. "I don't like it."

"So, did one of you want to go first or is this some weird twin thing where it has to be together?" Carmen asked.

"Carm, listen to me" Ivy begged. "You don't want to hurt us. We're your friends. Even though were mad at each other."

"Oh Ivy, I don't wanna hurt you both" Carmen said, the two breathed a sigh of relief. "I want to destroy you both."

"That's way worse!" Zack complained.

Carmen chuckled again, two knives in hand, and slowly approached the two, running the blade of one of the knives along the wall as she walked making an ear-piercing screech. Zack and Ivy slowly backed away.

"Ivy, I got a plan" Zack said quickly.

"Lay it on me, bro. I'm up for anything."

"First, we turn around." Zack said, before they both made an about-face.

"Okay, now what?" Ivy asked.

"Now...RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" Zack made a beeline down the hallway, followed by a befuddled and annoyed Ivy.

"I could've thought of that!"

"Ah, I love it when they run" Carmen mused before taking off after them.

While they took off down the halls, Carmen, ever the more athletic combatant, jumped from one wall to the other, eventually flipping right in front of the twins and stopping them both in their tracks.

"Aw come on!" Zack complained.

"Now, which one wanted to die first?" Carmen asked.

Ivy got in a fighting stance. "Put 'em up, Zack!"

"What? We can't fight Carmen!"

"Says who? There's two of us and one of her. Besides, like I said: we used to get in scraps with all the kids back in Southie."

"Those Townies, too" Zack added getting serious, and then striking a ninja pose.

"Ooh, I'm so scared of the not-Wahlbergs" Carmen taunted them.

"You take that back!" Zack warned.

"Mark Wahlberg is a pansy" Carmen snickered. (He's not, I like Mark.)

The twins gasped. "Those are fighting words, Carmen" Ivy snarled. They started to circle around her. "Mark Wahlberg is a National Treasure!"

"Wait, that's all I gotta do is make fun of a bunch of people from Boston and suddenly were about to have a bar fight?" Carmen asked in disbelief.

"Don't you dare!" Zack warned.

"Bill Burr? Not funny!" Carmen sneered. She made a drop kick, and knocked Zack into a wall. "Ben Affleck? Overrated!" Carmen dropped to her back and flipped Ivy off of her and smacked into her fallen brother when the redhead lunged.

The twins stood up. "You're asking for it!" Ivy warned.

"Matt Damon couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. And Good Will Hunting was garbage."

Zack lunged, before Carmen did a three combination move and knocked Zack back into Ivy. Slightly dejected but not defeated, the two stood up.

"Bill Belichick is a cheater!" Carmen continued her rant.

"LIES!" Ivy fumed. "All lies!"

"If she says anything about Patrice O'Neal I'm gonna lose it!" Zack promised.

"No need, I've had my fun" Carmen took out her knives. "Time to eliminate."

She made a jump but Zack and Ivy were quick to sprint away just in time. Carmen was at their heels. They made their way to a service elevator at the end of the hallway, which separated into two other paths. Zack quickly called the elevator and just their luck, it was on their floor.

"Come on, come on!" They jumped in and Zack spammed the button for a random floor as Carmen made a slide towards the closing door.

"Oh no you don't!"

The doors closed just in time and the elevator started to rise. The twins caught their breath. "What do we do now?" Zack asked.

"We gotta call Player and get us outta here!"

Zack went for his phone and wouldn't you know it— "No signal!"

"Of-freakin'-course!" Ivy pouted.

"There's gotta be a radio or something? M-M-Maybe we can send an S.O.S.?"

"Yeah, how's your German ya cheese head!?" Ivy smacked him in the back of the head. "Cause that's all anyone for the next thousand miles will understand!"

"I got it!" Zack's brain wheels were a-turning. "If they got a satellite radio, or something that can connect us with the outside world, then I can call Player that way."

Before Ivy could reject his plan as overly simple, the elevator dinged, the door opened and the twins gulped. Three familiar faces got on the elevator. Your three favorite V.I.L.E. knockarounds: El Topo, Le Chevre, and Tigress.

"Aw crud!" Ivy gulped, her and Zack backed themselves into a corner as the door closed.

"Well hey there you guys" Tigress said in a very sinisterly sweet voice.

"Sup."

"How's it hanging?"

"We are so glad we ran into you both" El Topo explained.

"Really?" Ivy asked in disbelief.

"Oui, because we wanted to get one last look before your former boss rearranges both of your faces" La Chevre added.

"Wait-wait, you're not gonna destroy us?" Ivy asked. "That's kind of your job."

"Usually, and don't get me wrong, I'd love to turn you both into my own personal scratching posts after your little cat joke routine" Tigress chuckled, showing some claw.

"But we are under strict instructions not to harm you in any way" El Topo assured them both. "Which I am fine with. I do not have a problem with you two."

"Aw, thanks Mole Guy" Zack smiled.

"But, we do want to be there when Carmen Sandiego turns your faces into minced meat" Tigress sneered. "She has the sole honor of eliminating you two. Or forcing you to be brainwashed V.I.L.E. agents."

"How do you know we won't get the drop on Carmen, huh?" Ivy asked, hands on the hips.

The three V.I.L.E. operatives started to chuckle...then laugh...then laugh so hard they fell over. "Uh!" Le Chevre held up his sides. "That is the funniest thing I've heard all day."

"Si, amigo" El Topo agreed.

"You two are what? Couple of plucky kids from—where you from, Boston? Carmen Sandiego is a trained thief. She knows everything we know and has apparently for years beforehand. And the only reason we haven't destroyed you is because we were told not to. You really think you're gonna get one over on her?" Tigress finished.

"I mean...that'd be nice" Zack shrugged.

"Pul-ease, I'm surprised she hasn't gotten to you both yet already."

"I bet she's lying in wait" Le Chevre added on Tigress's thought. "Waiting to lure you into a false sense of security."

"Or, perhaps she is gathering more weapons from our arsenal" El Topo continued. Suddenly, the elevator dinged.

"This is our floor. I'd like to say it was nice knowing you two...but it wasn't nice knowing you two" Tigress sneered before exiting.

"Au revoir" Le Chevre stated before exiting. "Try not to get too much blood on the castle walls, okay?"

"If you two need to quickly notarize a will, I am a registered notary public" El Topo informed them before handing them a business card.

"Dually noted" Zack gulped. The doors closed and the two were alone again. "Okay, okay at least we know only Carmen is out to get us. Could be worse."

"Really, bro? How exactly? I'm still waiting for the silver lining!"

Suddenly, four screws fell to the ground, followed by the cover to a ventilation duct. Zack and Ivy looked up in the hole above, revealing the elevator shaft. They saw a shadowy figure with piercing blue eyes...it was obviously Carmen.

"Oh-"

"-No" the twins said.

Carmen jumped in. She grabbed he two by the backs of their heads and smashed them together. "Too easy."

Before they could get up Carmen did this again...and again...and again.

"Okay, everything hurts now" Ivy sighed. Carmen took out her blades.

"Alright, since you both won't choose who is eliminated first, I'll choose for you" Carmen mused.

"Will it get rid of my headache?" Ivy asked.

"Sure Ivy, soon you won't feel a thing" Carmen promised her.

As she lunged, so did Zack, knocking Carmen into the wall of the elevator. He tried to sock her in the face and only ended up pinning her wrists. The elevator dinged, it was their floor.

"Run Ivy, Run! Call Player! Somehow!"

"But—"

"We'll split up!"

The door opened and Carmen threw Zack out and against the wall of the hallway, revealing they were in an upper part of the castle. Zack got one kick to Carmen's face while he was on the ground. This gave him enough room to get up and run.

Right before Carmen took after him she looked around her and saw no sign of Ivy. So she took off after Zack. Ivy was in fact hiding behind the wall of an intersection of the hallway. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, Zack's right. We gotta get a hold of Player...somehow" Ivy took off down the hallway.

In the other direction Zack unleashed his inner track star and made the wildest sprint of his young life. He quickly turned a corner and continued down the next hallway. It came to an intersection and Zack took one direction hoping to lure Carmen away.

He picked a random door and ran into the room, slamming it shut behind him. Carmen didn't seem to be behind him. As he huffed and puffed he turned to see exactly whose room he resided in. It was an ornate room with all the trappings of a master suite in the Palace of Versailles. Sitting on a lavish French couch sipping some tea, sat Countess Cleo, raising an eyebrow at her unexpected guest.

"Ah, hello NOT-duke" she said with a sneer.

Zack gulped and stammered like an babbling idiot. "C-C-C-C-Countess. Heh-heh-heh, you're looking well, boy that green really brings out your eyes." Cleo said nothing, and only sipped her tea some more. Zack realized flattery wasn't getting him anywhere and he quickly fell to his knees. "Okay come on, don't tell Carmen I'm here! Make me do anything, force feed me fish, I hate fish, just don't call Carmen!" he begged.

"Oh, silly boy, I'm not going to be the one to summon Carmen" Cleo assured him.

Zack made a reluctant yet hopeful smile. "Y-you're not?"

"No. But I know someone who will" She smiled.

Zack turned to see coming out of Cleo's massive walk-in closet was her flamboyant protégé and very snazzy dresser, the criminally underappreciated Dash Haber, who gave a sinister grin. Zack gulped. "D-D-D-Dash Haber."

"What was that thing you said to me again? Oh yes, Vermeer is a neighborhood in Boston?" he snarled.

Zack was sweating like a proverbial pig. "S-S-S-S-Su-Su-S-Sure it is. You know, it's right there between Dorchester and Roxbury...and uh, and the city of Malden...and Quincy...and, you're not buying this, are you?" he sighed, realizing his ruse was failing.

"Which part? The part where you think we believe you?"

"Which we don't" Cleo interrupted Dash.

"Or the part where you think that will stop us from getting Carmen over here?" Dash asked.

"The second one" Zack groaned in defeat. "Can you at least give me a head start?"

"Oh of course, we shall give you ten minute reprieve" Cleo promised him.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Immediately, Dash then yelled. "Oh Carmen!"

Suddenly, the door flung open, revealing Carmen, angry and huffing.

"What the heck, man!?" Zack asked, backing against the wall.

"Minutes, seconds, I was always bad at math" Dash shrugged with a wicked smirk.

"I know I'm in real danger here, but did you just make a Danny Phantom reference?"

"Danny who?" Cleo raised an eyebrow.

Anyway, Carmen grabbed two sewing needles from a knitting basket on Cleo's nearby coffee table and slung them at Zack, pinning his shirt against the nearest wall. Carmen snickered as she approached the redhead, knife in hand.

"Thanks for the call" Carmen chuckled. She approached Zack and put the knife to his neck. "It's a shame I had to take out the easy one first. Still not interested in joining V.I.L.E. Zack?"

"Never!"

"Well, then I guess you die with honor, or something like that."

"Carm wait! Um...y-you wouldn't want to get blood all over the good Countess's fancy rugs now would you?" Zack asked, stalling for time.

"He's right. Blood is so hard to get out of good Persian rugs" Cleo nodded.

"I'm very concerned that you know that" Zack interjected, then turning to Carmen. "See, you can't kill me here."

"You're right Zack. I guess I could toss you out of that open window there!" Carmen snickered, motioning to an open window to the outside nearby.

Zack sighed. "Yup, that would work."

Carmen then tore Zack from the wall and dragged him towards the window. Zack tried to flail his arms and whack Carmen with them, but this was no use. Soon he was right near the window. "Oh come on!"

"Remember Zack, it's not the fall...it's the sudden splat!"

"Buh-bye" Dash waved.

"Or as they say in Austria: Aufwiedersehn" Cleo mocked him.

Carmen then slung Zack out of the window. "Nooooooo!"

Fortunately, the window was in a very perfectly placed position as Zack fell maybe one story to an awaiting pool on a balcony below...because below that was the hill with which the castle stood upon. Zack landed in the deep end with a loud splash.

From up above, Carmen snapped in disappointment. "Shoot. He landed in a pool."

"Shame" Dash groaned.

"Pity" Cleo sighed.

Carmen watched him get up. "And he's fine too. Don't worry, he won't be for long."

"Make sure of it, Black Sheep" Cleo commanded her. Carmen then took her leave. Cleo turned to Dash who was looking something up on a most-likely stolen iPad.

"By the way, I can confirm there is no neighborhood in Boston called Vermeer."

"You're an idiot" Cleo deadpanned.

Outside, Zack climbed out of the pool, in pain and soaking wet. He turned to the pool deck where there were many lawn chairs sitting around. Mime Bomb happened to be lounging in one of the chairs, he gave Zack a quiet wave.

"Hey" Zack sighed, before limping back inside the castle.

Back inside, a very dry Ivy was running about the castle, trying every conceivable room she could find, coming up empty. She eventually made her way to a lower floor which had been converted to a massive lifting and cardio gym. As Ivy ran through it, there was only one occupant, doing some Lateral pulldowns on a lat machine, who else but Coach Brunt.

"Well-well, I'm surprised you lasted this long" The large Texan said, racking the machine and wiping her face off with a nearby towel.

"Coach Brunt" Ivy sneered. "Figures you'd be at the gym."

"And that's why I look like a million bucks" she said, squirting some water into her mouth from an awaiting water bottle. "Body By Brunt. Those TikTok gym bros can eat their little hearts out."

"Why'd you do it?" Ivy asked.

"Be specific, I've done a lot of things people wouldn't be so proud of."

"You know what" Ivy pointed. "Why'd you make Carmen go evil on us?"

"Well, you see, she made it very clear before I tried to bear hug her to death that she didn't want to go back to her family...the very people who raised her, and that she'd rather die than come with me, so, we took it upon ourselves to do something a bit drastic. Wasn't my doing if that's what you're implying but I did endorse it" she explained, squirting some more water.

"Who then...the-the-the professor guy...The Countess...Doc Bellum?"

"You think I'm gonna tell you that?" Brunt asked.

"Why not. She's gonna kill me anyway."

"You think I'm stupid? Is it the accent? I know you're not as dim as your pinheaded brother. If I told you, you would just go an try to stop your precious Black Sheep from being a permanent villain" she checked her watch. "Which by count, she has T minus three hours and twelve minutes until she'll be a bad Black Sheep forever."

"A part of me says "you can have her" we're not exactly on the best of terms" Ivy spat.

"Aw, trouble in goodie-two-shoes paradise?" Brunt asked condescendingly. "Why don't you take up our offer and join us?"

"Because I'm no thief."

"Really? You have no problem stealing from us."

"We're taking back what isn't yours!" Ivy yelled. WARNING: MIND BLOWING MONOLOGUE ALERT!

"Oh give it up! When are you good guys gonna get it?" Brunt began. "You think this world is filled with poor and put-upon victims? No. You think society has really evolved since The Enlightenment? Sure, scholars want you to think that in your little schools while they train you to be good little suckers. The modern age made us all soft, and in that age are people who still have that survival instinct; providers, earners, the rest are a bunch of whiny or content peons. Please, if I had a billionaire and gave a poor man a gun and told him that no harm would come to him if he killed this man and he could take his money you think that man is gonna drop that gun and leave or is he gonna blow that billionaire away and sleep like a baby? Everything is a transaction, every person is a wallet, and the world is not a community, it's a business. Some people want you to think otherwise, but they're lying to you. They want you to be placated so you won't come after them and then they turn you against your neighbor for good measure, so they can forget about their own failures in life. Nobody wants to be a loser, they want power, they want influence in this business and they'll do whatever they have to, to get it. We just go about it a different way, is all" Brunt finished.

Ivy stood there slack-jawed. "I don't know whether to be shook-eth or depressed?"

"How 'bout scared?" Brunt asked.

"Why?" Ivy asked.

"Because while you were busy listening to my TED Talk, Carmen Sandiego sneaked up behind you."

Ivy quickly turned around to see Carmen sling two ten pound barbell weights at her. Ivy quickly flipped out of the way in the nick of time, landing on her feet.

"Last chance. Still wanna not join V.I.L.E.?" Brunt asked.

Carmen grabbed more weights and flung them at Ivy, barely missing her each time. "Fat chance, fatty!"

"Ooh, you called me fat, I'm so offended" Brunt rolled her eyes. "Lambkins, destroy her."

"With pleasure, Coach Brunt" Carmen snickered, grabbing two ten pound free weights.

Ivy backed herself into a corner where there was a large mirror, the kind that wraps around the wall of the gym where you can stand there, not lift weights, and take muscle selfies. Carmen raised the weights above Ivy's head.

"Say goodnight!"

The redhead hatched a quick plan. She did a quick roll right into Carmen and knocking her down. Ivy rolled up to her feet. Carmen joined her a few moments later. The two now circled one another in a sparing circle, the kind you see in a wrestling room or MMA gym.

"Ya gotta snap out of it, Carmen!" Ivy demanded.

"Why? I like being this way" Carmen mused.

"No you don't! You like helping orphans and stealing the stuff back these bozos stole first!"

"But being evil is so fun. But, maybe you're right. You shouldn't join V.I.L.E., you're not cut out for it."

This threw Ivy for a loop. Sure, she never wanted to join V.I.L.E. they were never kind to her or Zack, but Carmen saying she simply couldn't handle it was definitely getting to her. Ivy winced but then got angered again.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're pathetic. You're a screw-up, you and your idiot brother! Why I ever worked with the likes of you two amateurs is beyond me!" Carmen fumed.

"Ooh, that doesn't sound like any of those villainous personalities talking" Brunt chuckled. "That sounds like it's coming from the heart."

"Shut-up!" Ivy yelled, turning to Carmen. "I am not pathetic! I am strong, I'm wicked smart! And I am more than capable! I'm so smart, I know you're trying to use reverse psychology to get me to join V.I.L.E.! Well I see right through ya! Nice try Carm!"

"No, I genuinely mean you're pathetic. V.I.L.E. recruits only the very best, and you wouldn't cut it."

Ivy's heart started to sink. "But-but-b-but—The Mime guy would make a better thief than me!?"

"Mime Bomb may say as much as Mr. Wrench but he knows his way around a good heist" Brunt insisted.

"Mr. Wrench? You watch Fargo?" Ivy asked breaking the tension. "Such a great show—"

While she was distracted...again, Carmen leaped, knocking Ivy down. Carmen got to her knees and grabbed Ivy's right arm and tried to stretch it in the wrong direction.

"Ahhhhh!" she screamed.

"Don't worry Ivy, your neck is next!"

"But I like my neck!"

Ivy clenched her teeth and rolled over, and was able to knock Carmen down in the process. She got free and to her feet, shaking her arm, thankful Carmen didn't do much damage. The mind controlled Carmen got back to her feet.

Ivy got in a fighting stance while Carmen grabbed a curling bar and twirled it like a staff. Ivy grabbed some five pound weights and twirled them to taunt Carmen, I don't need to tell what time it is, CAUSE IT'S GO TIME!

"Bring it on!"

Carmen charged Ivy, who threw the disc weights like frisbees, missing Carmen and just in time for the Latina to shove an end of the bar into Ivy's gut, knocking her into the mirror. Carmen dropped the bar and tried to punch at Ivy.

The redhead countered by grasping onto Carmen's wrists, but Carmen was proving too strong and got free, socking Ivy in the face. Ivy quickly got to her knees, getting under Carmen and tackling her to the ground. Carmen shoved Ivy off of her.

"Pathetic!" Carmen sneered.

"I haven't lost yet. So whose pathetic now?"

"Still you."

Carmen fell to a roll and rolled right into Ivy. Once the redhead was knocked down, she tried to back to her feet, but backed into a squat rack. Carmen kicked Ivy into it, but Ivy jumped up to the top bar and made a swing kick into Carmen's gut, which was mildly effective.

Ivy wasted no time and made another lunge at Carmen knocking her into another machine, while Brunt wiped her face with a towel and was very amused at the carnage in front of her. Carmen finally got her footing and jabbed at Ivy. Once she lost her rhythm Carmen made multiple hits onto the headed girl before kicking her into a bench press. Carmen jumped and straddled Ivy, grabbing the nearby bar and shoving it into her neck. Ivy used all her arm strength to try and lift it up while she gasped for air.

"That's it, Lambkins. Finish her."

"And the last thing you'll see Ivy is my face. The face of your former boss, who hates you. You were always a scrawny, pathetic, useless, childish, amateur, waste of my time!"

Ivy's eyes filled with tears while she was slowly losing consciousness. She couldn't believe this. Maybe Brunt was right, maybe Carmen actually did think those things. Maybe all this time she and Zack were strains on her and their missions. Maybe Carmen took pity on them and never really cared about either of them?

It all made sense to her now. But Ivy wasn't going to let that stop her. She couldn't, this castle in Austria couldn't be the end. With one last bout of strength Ivy kneed Carmen in the side and knocked the Latina off of her and onto the ground. Ivy leapt from the bench, taking multiple much needed breaths, tears still flowing from her eyes.

She ran out of the gym and found a nearby staircase, running down to the next level. A disappointed Carmen turned to Brunt. "I'm sorry, Coach. She slipped away."

"Aw, don't feel so bad, pumpkin pie, here" she handed Carmen a water bottle. "Get your strength back up. You'll get them. That much I know."

Carmen sipped from the bottle and handed it back to Coach. "Thanks, I'll get back to it!" Carmen then took off after Ivy.

"Go get 'em, Black Sheep!" Brunt then yawned. "While you do that, I'm gonna eat some brisket and watch Boardwalk Empire. I don't care what anyone says, that Steve Buscemi is a fox."

While we ponder Coach Brunt's taste in men, we take you into the lower levels of the castle. In a rock walled section with many storage units abound in this part of the facility was Zack roaming around trying to find some form of transportation out of there, or contact with Player, whichever came first.

"Okay Zack, downsides: you are trapped in a wicked creepster castle in Austria, Carmen hates you and is now mind-controlled or something by V.I.L.E. and is hunting you and Ivy down. Positives:..." he paused, realizing there were none. "Whoa, is this what bleak feels like?" He sighed and looked about the storage rooms.

Many of them were empty. Some simply had boxes in them. Some were freezers holding perishable food, Zack was particularly fond of a meat freezer where pre-cooked yet frozen meat hung up. He took a bite from a rack of mutton. "Mmm, mutton. Okay, one positive, they pre-cooked their mutton."

A few fruitless searches later and Zack found the motherload of storage rooms. It was like the others except it had one rather deadly facet to it. It was filled to the ceiling with dynamite. Contained within were blasting caps, timers, you name it.

"Oh, this could be bad" Zack gingerly closed the door. "I'm gonna never go into that room again" he said, slowly backing away. Of course as Zack backed away Someone round the corner of the hallway...two someone's, The Cleaners, Vlad and Boris.

They were both holding a box. Obviously they had orders not to harm Zack but the redhead was still careful not to be seen by them. Yet, he was intrigued as to where they were going. He followed them through the halls. After a few more twists and turns Zack hid behind a corner clearing.

It was a hanger. A massive hanger. A hanger containing multiple planes, helicopters, and any other strange flying vehicle...to Zack's delight, there was even a flying car.

But in the middle of it all was a V-22 Osprey. It's one of those planes where the propellers can be moved from a horizontal to a vertical position, giving the aircraft the unique ability to be part helicopter, part plane.

But Zack wasn't just rubbing his hands together for the whirlybird, no, he was rubbing his hands together because behind the plane, on many pallets and shining in the lights overhead, was every last ounce of the stolen gold ore.

"Jackpot" Zack whispered.

Fixing the plane was V.I.L.E.'s resident mechanic, the cockney accented Mickey. Other than her and The Cleaners, the hanger seemed to be empty. Zack tiptoed over to Mickey's tool box while she was on a rolling board underneath the plane doing some welding. Zack grabbed a few tools, namely a drill and some screws, but then grabbed the entire box, snickering while he did.

Mickey reached underneath to try and reach her toolbox, and found something peculiar...no tools. "Wha' in the world? Oy! Cleaners! Did one of you swipe me things?"

"Huh?" Vlad asked.

"Ugh!" Mickey slid out from under the plane and saw no box. "Gordon Bennett! Am I losing me 'ead?"

"Who is Gordon?" Boris asked.

"Ergh! Never mind! Just find me tools! Professor Maelstrom wants this bird ready to go by 'omorrow."

They set out to look for the missing toolbox. Mickey was quick to find it, sitting on a small table in a nearby closet. "'Ey! There she is!" she walked into the closet while the Cleaners followed close behind. Of course when she entered, Mickey was quite disturbed to learn the box was cleaned out. "It's empty!"

The Cleaners were then pushed inside the closet and the door was slammed shut. The sounds of a drill could be heard as the three tried to rush the door, no use. Outside, Zack had quickly screwed the door shut.

"'Ey! 'Ey, let us outta 'ere!" Mickey yelled muffled.

"What's that? Leave you inside until I load all the gold onto the plane? Well, if you insist" A wise-cracking Zack chuckled as he got the rest of Mickey's tools and got back to work underneath the plane. "And once I fix this thing, then I can get the gold loaded up. "Zack reignited mickey's blowtorch. "Well, at least that's one problem solved." He got right to work, part of him was hoping he knew what he was doing but Zack knew mechanics...sort of, how hard could this be, right? At least he was in the 'win' column.

Cut to Ivy. She was sprinting like an athlete through the halls of the castle, Carmen at her heels. Carmen's smirk was determined, evil determined. She turned a corner, and no sign of Ivy. Carmen then noticed a nearby stairwell with the faint noise of pitter-pattering feet nearby and ran to investigate, listening for the sounds of Ivy running, huffing, and puffing.

The huffing and puffing stopped. Ivy was behind a column on the floor below. She looked around, no sign of Carmen. But as she leapt from behind cover, two something's flew past Ivy's head. Two of Carmen's throwing knives that is, barely missing the redhead.

"Aw, come on!" Ivy groaned before taking off again.

"You can't escape me, Ivy!" Carmen hollered. "I'll give you one chance to come quietly and I promise I'll make it relatively painless!"

"NEVER!" Ivy called back, sprinting once more through the hallways.

"Have it your way! It's always more fun your way" Carmen chuckled.

We cut to the ornate, well-decorated, and snooty office of a one Nigel Braithwaite aka: Roundabout. His office was adorned in that ye olde British architecture from King Edward the whatever. He sat in a fancy chair at his fancy oak desk. To keep with his snooty, stereotypical prim and proper English persona, he was squeezing a lemon wedge in a cup of tea, while a plate of freshly baked cranberry scones sat on a silver platter next to the cup. There was a flat screen TV on the other end of the office, cued up to Netflix, the main menu for Downton Abbey was on screen. In the background, gentle harpsichord music was playing at a quiet melodic tone. (It doesn't get more British than this)

"Ah, you've outdone yourself, old boy" he said to himself. "Hot tea, fresh scones, Downton Abbey, and soon Carmen Sandiego will forever be in our grasp" he took a ginger sip of his tea, perfectly prepared for some pretentious peacefulness.

BUT, the laws of television decree: we must interrupt his tranquility. His office door flung open and in popped Ivy, slamming it shut behind her. She was huffing and puffing as she listened in at the door. She heard loud footsteps run past the office, getting fainter with each passing second. She sighed of relief, she gave Carmen the slip.

"Oh, it's you" Roundabout sighed.

"Bro please, ya gotta hide me. Or-or-or-or at least DO NOT tell Carm I'm here" Ivy begged.

"Yes, and what leverage have you to barter with for such a promise?" Roundabout asked.

"Ugh!" Ivy groaned. "Can ya at least let me crash here for like ten minutes to catch my breath?"

"Sure-sure, of course" Roundabout smirked. We see an insert on the molding below his desk, where a red button is attached to it, an obvious silent alarm. He gently pressed the button.

"Ooh, scones! Don't mind if I do!" the starved and impolite Ivy shoved two of the freshly baked pastries into her face.

"Please, make yourself at home" Roundabout snarled with snooty sarcasm.

"They're a little dry" Ivy said, mouth full, ignoring his tone. She sat on one of the chairs on the other side of the desk and put her feet up on it. A visibly disgusted Roundabout took a fountain pen from a nearby holder and used it to push Ivy's feet off. He sat at his desk, his afternoon of relaxation and English serial dramas clearly ruined.

"So, what's your deal?" Ivy asked, making small-talk.

"My deal?" Roundabout asked.

"Yeah, ya know, your schtick?"

"I don't have a "schtick", I'm a professional. Unlike SOME people."

"Well what's yer gimmick, then? Brunt's got the weird Hulk strength, Bellum's got the gadgets, c'mon, what do you do?"

"Wouldn't you like to know" Roundabout hissed.

"Hey, I'm just making small-talk."

"You have seven minutes" he huffed, clearly much more a man of honor than Dash...except, we know he's not. "Why don't I ask a question of you? You are red of hair, freckles bedecking your face, and you have trouble pronouncing your "R's", obviously you hail of the Boston, Massachusetts area, yes?"

"You're good" Ivy winked, shoving another scone into her mouth-hole.

"Is it safe to assume your ancestors come from Érie?" Roundabout asked.

"What do you got the Alzheimer's or something? Ya already just guessed I was from Boston. I ain't ever been near Lake Erie."

Roundabout facepalmed, audibly sighing. "Ireland, you twit!"

"Ohhhhhh, duh. Yeah, I'm Irish, so?"

"So, your people and mine aren't always on the best of terms. I'm a Loyalist you know."

"I ain't gotta dog in that fight. I'm an American first."

Roundabout was plumb out of patience and he was annoyed that it was taking so long for Carmen or someone to answer his silent alarm. He arose and adjourned to a nearby bar. "How about a stiff drink. I could really use one right about now."

"Ya got Samuel Adams?"

"You take me for a peasant?" he sneered, before grabbing a bottle of scotch and two glasses. "We'll drink scotch."

"Ooh, you got Johnnie Blue?"

"That cheap swill, surely you jest?" Roundabout said pouring some of the brown stuff into the glasses.

"Cheap? It's like three hundred dollars a bottle."

"How about two thousand pounds per bottle. Macallan 25 Year Old Highland Single Malt" he announced holding up the bottle. (It was the most expensive scotch I could find) He moved a glass towards Ivy.

"What do we drink to?" Ivy asked.

"Your demise."

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Salud" she groaned.

"Cheers" they clinked glasses. "You know, in my days as a field agent in MI6 I was stationed in Belfast."

"That's in Pennsylvania, right?" Ivy asked.

Cue facepalm number two. "Northern bloody Ireland!"

"Oh gotcha."

"Anyway" Roundabout gritted his teeth. "You could imagine what it was like during The Troubles. But we Loyalists had such a hard time with those terrorist thugs in the Irish Republican Army."

"If you were wasting all yer time with them, who was fighting the Irish Democratic Army?" Ivy asked making a very 'meh' joke but continuing Roundabout's ire.

"You should be a comedian" he mumbled. "Anyway, I was stationed in Falls Road, a heavy Nationalist community."

"Yeah, I never really understood all that stuff. Something about land, and you guys don't like The Pope, and they don't like The Queen?"

"You're ignorant to your own history. Well, let me explain something to you: your people are savages and boorish mutts of the highest magnitude, and it was a pleasure watching some perish. I relished in using their own weaponry against them. Oh yes, the great IRA shaken to their very core when Roundabout came to town. They fancied themselves car bombs—"

"Oh, that's where you drop a shot of cream and Jameson into a glass of beer" Ivy interjected, incorrectly referring to the alcoholic beverage. "See, I know things." (and she drinks)

"You are impossible. I'm trying to intimidate you while simultaneously and cryptically insulting your heritage and here you sit, eating my scones and drinking my scotch with not a care in the world!"

"You offered the scotch" Ivy reminded him.

"That tears it! I've had it with these monkeyshines!" He angrily and unsubtly spammed the silent alarm under his desk. "Blast it, Dr. Bellum! Does this even work!?"

"Does she got like, ADHD or something? Carm talks about her like she's scatterbrained."

"I'd like to see your brains scattered!" Roundabout hissed, angrily slamming his fist onto the button.

Ivy downed the expensive glass of scotch and shoved the last scone into her mouth. "Welp, I feel well rested, and with a nice gulp of liquid courage to take on Carmen!"

"Oh please! You defeat Carmen? You and your imbecile brother couldn't defeat a dilapidated anthill with a flame thrower and twelve hand grenades! The only reason you're still breathing now is because I'm under strict instructions not to harm either one of you...otherwise you would have had your head removed from your neck the moment you uttered: "bro, please", you have the grace of a hyena, the skills of a toddler, and the manners of a...well, a loser washed up sewer rat from Boston!"

A wide-eyed Ivy narrowed her eyes, BUT Suddenly the door to the office flung open, opposite the wall, and smashing the TV. Enter Carmen, some kind of huge ray gun in her hands.

"Gulp" Ivy shivered.

"My door!" Roundabout complained.

"Sorry I'm late, I went to the arsenal to load up" Carmen winked.

"That was nineteenth century oak!" Roundabout ignored Carmen's explanation.

"So, does the loser-washed-up-sewer-rat-from-Boston have any last requests?" Carmen sarcastically guessed.

"It was the door to Churchill's office" Roundabout would not let this go.

While he was distracted, Ivy quickly grabbed the platter, shattering the cup. She slung the plate at Carmen, who anticipated this and ducked. But while she limbo-ed, this gave Ivy her moment. She slid down and swept Carmen's legs, knocking her down. Ivy quickly got to her feet and rushed to the door.

"By the way, I hated the scones! I just didn't want ya to have any!" Ivy cursed at Roundabout.

"At least I have better cuisine than a bowl of heavy cream and overcooked clams!"

Ivy flipped him off and glared down at Carmen, who was recovering. Ivy sighed. "Not bad for a loser" she mumbled, tears in her eyes. She took off running again. Carmen gritted her teeth, getting to her feet she took off after Ivy.

Alright, I decided to make this a bit longer because I know you guys really wanted an update. So leave a review and I'm glad you've enjoyed the comedy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make this a bit longer than originally anticipated, so I hope you enjoyed this long awaited update. Leave a comment with your suggestions.


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